• Success Criterion 1.3.1
  • Conformance level A

Radio or Checkbox Group With No Grouping Question Announced

1.3.1 — Info and Relationships

Scenario

Setting

A social media platform's settings menu

What’s wrong

Radio/checkbox groups without fieldset/legend (code grouping fields under one question) or role="group" (code grouping related controls)+name, where the group prompt is visual only.

Example 

<p>Who can see your posts?</p>
<div><input type="radio" name="privacy" id="pub"><label for="pub">Public</label></div>
<div><input type="radio" name="privacy" id="fr"><label for="fr">Friends</label></div>

Why it matters

A screen reader user tabbing between the two radio buttons hears only Public and Friends, never the question they're answering.

How to test

Tab through a radio/checkbox set: a screen reader should announce the group's question once, then each option — if there's no fieldset/legend, the group prompt is never announced.

How to fix

A fieldset and legend attach the group question to every option inside it, not just the paragraph above.

<fieldset>
  <legend>Who can see your posts?</legend>
  <div><input type="radio" name="privacy" id="pub"><label for="pub">Public</label></div>
  <div><input type="radio" name="privacy" id="fr"><label for="fr">Friends</label></div>
</fieldset>

Outcome

Every option now announces Who can see your posts, Friends together, not just the first one in the group.

Who is affected

Screen reader users choosing a privacy setting lose the question as soon as they move past the first radio button.

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